a monument filled with stories

Laurenskerk, Rotterdam (NL)

client

Laurenskerk Rotterdam

location

Laurenskerk, Rotterdam (NL)

completion

2010

surface

3000 m2

status

permanent

Kossmann.dejong’s characteristic way of working has made the eventful histories of the St. Laurens church and the city of Rotterdam come to life for a wide audience. Never before did a Dutch church end up with a permanent display like this. The exhibition was inaugurated by HRH the Prince of Orange on Friday 10 September.

church filled with stories: a new layer of meaning The design of the exhibition in the Laurens church is based on stories that are embedded within the building. Five centuries of history are the source: from the city’s foundation, through the centuries up to the future. It is not a traditional exhibition, as there is no collection to display. Stories and occasions are depicted and presented instead. It has turned into a contemporary multimedia show that does justice to the building and that illuminates and offers a deeper understanding to both the Rotterdam community and the city’s tourists.

each chapel its own theme The church’s chapels host distinct themes that are all related to the Laurens church and the city of Rotterdam. Each chapel has its own theme and form and content are always subject-specific, thus each chapel is different. The result is an exhibition that lets the walls speak about the past and the present, about life and death, about the city’s bombing and its reconstruction as well as its silence. ‘The layout has added a new layer to the church’s modest reconstruction architecture. It has not become an exhibition in the space, rather the space has become the exhibition’, says Herman Kossmann, one of the two founding partners of Kossmann.dejong.

food for thought The exhibition design raises questions and invites to in-depth exploration. A specially developed audio book that will be handed out to every visitor at the entrance of the exhibition, explains and gives detailed information through various people’s voices. The chapels stimulate people to ask questions, while the audio book gives inspiring answers through suggestions and stories.